My question is, is there any need for the heim joint / poly bushing solution these two links are using, could you just drill a hole through the stock center link and hard mount it to the pitman/idler using just bolts or bolts/steel sleeves? Essentially this just replaces the tie rod ends with bolts, is there any torsional twist in the center link or just pivotal movement?

When we built the rallyX race truck we went with an all heim joint set up. It required drilling. Drilling the holes out on the steering arms took forever. Other ideas that come to mine is a HooHaa bar built for these trucks. Not sure if they are still in business but a search using Google could turn up a few things.

Hoo haa is the grassroots link I posted above, I like that idea but again still a little pricey. I'm not trying to be a cheap-ass but I would rather not paythe ~$300 for this when I have a line on a solid axle for $200 haha. I'm just sort of looking for a cheap or diy fix. How did you mock up a heim joint setup foul mouth?

I got a chance tonight to fab something up that may or may not work. In a bind this would probably suit me just fine but there's not bushings from the idler arm/pitman arm to the center link now. I don't actually have this bolted up to the truck I had a spare center link lying around that I thought i'd do this to in case I ruin the current one.

First I drilled out the top of the center link to get access to the springs inside, Ripped or grinded them out and then hammered the rod ends out through the top.
Next I had some sleeves from a leaf spring laying around so I measured and cut them to length to fill the big hole.
Welded the sleeve in, fit's a 3/4 inch bolt perfectly.
And finally a coat of tremclad flat black.
The idler arm side was slightly smaller so I had to grind a slight amount off the sleeve, that seemed easier than drilling through the hardened steel of the drag link. I still don't know if this will work but i'll probably give it a try.

Well this hasn't gone well at all, hoping someone can help.
I decided to put my homemade centerlink on today as a temporary fix, problem is nothing is lining up right.
I'm not sure if i'm just screwed or it means my idler arm bent but the two sides do not line up properly.
Drivers Side:
And passenger side:

to be honest......i keep looking at the WEAK frames on these and think a bracket that not only braces the idler, but should should go back and catch the steering box.trying to fix one side at a time will never work for long.